Pyre's RPGear

“Oh shit, that's a kid.” Maggie was the first to holster her firearm. 

“Really? You called us over for a kid?” Alex asked accusingly.

“I didn't know it was a kid! I just said I heard someone breaking in! And I didn't ask you to come.” Her old self clarified.

“Wait, I know this kid.” Maggie got closer to her, making Kara instinctively recoil back. 

“You do?” Both sisters turn to her in question.

“Yeah, she got the entire force on high alert since she disappeared from the precinct last night. How did you end up here?” Maggie asked the room than Kara directly. “Tali, right?”

“Tali?” Adult Kara asked with a mixture of shock and alarm.

“So you do know her?” Alex asked.

“I… no, I mean yes. Maybe. I'm not sure.” Her old self mumbled, her hand looking for her kitchen table to stable herself.

“Do you know Kara?” Maggie asked Kara, speaking slightly slower than before.

“Yes.” She sighed, she might as well get this over with. “I'm her. I just didn't find anywhere else to go and I was tired. I just want to sleep.” Rao, she was tired. She was so tired.

“You're her? What do you mean?” Alex asked.

“Yes. I sort of time traveled… but I'm Kara.”

“You're Kara from the past?” Alex asked with more suspicion in her voice. “God I see it now. You were adorable, Kara.”

“Actually I'm about two years from your future.” Kara corrected her.

“That explains the English." Her old self mumbled.

“Wait wait wait! You are adult future version of Kara stuck in this adorable body?” Maggie bit her lip, doing a terrible job at hiding her grin.

“I… yeah.” Kara nodded.

“Oh, that explains the little disappearance act you pulled on Davenport.” Maggie chuckled.

“Davenport?” Kara asked, confused.

“You spent a whole day with her and you can't remember her name?”

“You mean officer Lydia?”

“Yeah, oh, I suppose they do their whole kid gentle approach.” Maggie shook her head and stepped back to stand near Alex.

“You used your powers at a police station?” Alex caught on, directing an accusing stare at her.

“I had no other way to leave!” Kara protested.

“I mean, I can't blame you. Davenport can be a lot.” Maggie shrugged.

“Are you okay Kara?” Alex asked softly.

“Yes.” Both Karas answered simultaneously.

“That's… weird.” Alex noted.

“Look, I haven't slept in two days to the point I think I might pass out, can we pick it up in the morning?” Kara begged.

“Wow, have you grown up to be really bitchy in two years?” Maggie commented.

“Maybe it's the whole turning into a toddler thing.” Alex suggested.

“Guy, I'm just tired! I mean she is tired. We are both tired. Just leave the interrogation for tomorrow morning, okay?” Her old self said with a sigh.

“Alright, but tomorrow.” Alex said

“Sure. Bright and early.” Kara let out a loud yawn.

She took a much needed shower and put a shirt that felt more like a dress and hung awkwardly down her shoulder. It was humiliating but at this point she didn't care.

“I don't really have a pull out sofa, but I guess you know that. We can just share a bed. I think you're small enough for both of us to fit comfortably.”

“Sure.” Kara wouldn't even try to argue. She was offered a bed that was enough. Plus, she had shared a bed with Lena before so sharing her bed with herself shouldn't be weird.

“I have to ask.” Her older self said once they settled into bed. “Why Tali?” 

“Mmm wha–?” Kara mumbled, half asleep.

“Why Tali of all people?”

Why? Kara didn't really think. She just needed a name and she couldn’t use any of the familiar ones. She wasn't sure what made her think of Tali, maybe it was Lena. Tali was her best friend back in Krypton and while they had their bumps in the road that was a relationship she would never get to mend.

“I don't know.” Was all she said before succumbing into sleep.

— — —

They were woken up by a loud knock on the door.

“Open up! We have coffee!” Alex announced too loudly in the morning.

Wow, they took bright and early way too seriously. They both tore themselves out of bed and dragged their feet into the kitchen.

“Where is my cup?” Kara looked around for any extra cup for no avail.

“They didn't have hot chocolate there.” Alex said as if it explained anything.

“And?” Kara demanded.

“I'm not gonna bring coffee to a child! What are you? Three?” Alex raised an eyebrow at her.

“Around six by my estimation, but I'm older than her!” She pointed at her old self in protest.

“Still a child! Coffee could have bad effects on your body at that age.” Alex protested.

“I'm a superpowered alien! Coffee would not affect my physiology!”

“Exactly! So why do you need it in the first place?”

“Can't I just have a hint of normality?” Kara sighed loudly which didn't sound as dramatic as she hoped with the voice of a small child.

“You can have mine.” Her old self offered.

“No, that's fine I'll just make some instant.” She forfeited. Good thing she could fly, because, Rao, are six years old short.

“Oh, no.” Alex grabbed her small flying form in an attempt to bring her down to earth, but Kara had no plans to make it easy for her sister.

“Ughh! Goddammit Kara!” Alex gave a valiant effort to bring her back to the ground but she was no match to super strength.

“Kara, would you get this superbaby down to ground level?” Alex shouted.

“I just want to make some coffee!” Kara protested.

“No superpowers at home.” Alex declared, but Kara refused to budge.

“Come on, just take my coffee and let me make some.” Old her overpowered her despite her protests and put her down by force.

Kara took the offered cup begrudgingly without breaking eye contact with Alex who kept her gaze through narrow eyelids. 

The coffee was cold. 

Kara used a quick heat vision to heat it up and flashed Alex a satisfied smirk.

“Kara!” Alex shouted.

“Can we maybe call her something else?” Her old self asked. “The whole double Kara thing is confusing.”

“But that's my name.” Kara argued.

“Well it's also my name, and since this is my time and I'm in proper adult form I get priority.”  

“Thats not fair.” Kara knew she was right, but wanted to protest regardless.

“She has a point though, Tali.” Maggie smirked at her.

“And not Tali.” Her old self added. “Please, not that.”

“Alright, any suggestions babe of steel?” Kara was not amused by Alex's name calling. 

“Or any names we should avoid, Kara prime?” Maggie asked.

“No, just that.” Old Kara said, averting her gaze to the floor.

“Any preferences, Super-tot?” 

“No.” Kara sneered at Alex.

“So how about… I don't know, Linda?” Maggie suggested.

“Sure.” Kara kept her sneer at Alex. She really did not like those nicknames.

“Good. Now that we got that out of the way, Linda, would you kindly tell us how you got here?” Maggie sat down on the nearest chair, legs spread wide as she leaned on the back of the chair.

“Is this a time warp thing?” Alex suggested.

“Alternate world issue?” Adult Kara asked.

“Alien attack?” Alex threw in.

“Wow, wait, what do you mean by alternative worlds? Is that a thing?” Maggie leaned forward on her chair. Her eyes darted between the three of them with speed.

“No, no. I'm here…” What would she say? What could she say? “I'm here on a mission.” She settled on. That would do.

“So alternative worlds are not a thing?” Maggie asked quietly.

“They are, I'll tell you later.”Alex whispered. “What mission?” She addressed Kara.

“It's…” Kara wagered how much she ought to tell them. It somehow felt too personal to share with everyone but herself. “It has to do with the future, so I can't tell you anything about it. You know, to preserve the timeline and all that.” She hoped that would do.

“I mean you've clearly already broken a few rules,” Maggie pointed out.

“Well, that was not my intention and telling you more than that could be dangerous.” She said.

“Alright, alright.” Alex raised her hand before Maggie could argue for more information. “Future timelines and all, that's fair, but how can we help?”

Alex could be so antagonistic at times and Kara was still frustrated from the various nicknames she had thrown her way, but it were moments like these, where Alex could just accept her, trust her, and just offer help that made Kara love and appreciate her sister so much. A moment of true sisterly bond.

“Because I doubt you could achieve much with those tiny infant hands.” And the moment was ruined.

“I'm figuring it out. But I'll let you know if I need anything.” She reassured them.

“Alright. I will go ahead and smooth things out with the police for you.” Maggie offered as she got up from her chair.

“Smooth things out?” Big Kara asked.

“Micro Danvers here has a manhunt going for her since yesterday. Some people are sure there is a new serial killer working at the station since they managed to abduct her from the toilets. It's a whole thing. I might need to bring you in to make a statement, but I'll try to figure something out.”

Big Kara directed her with a judgmental gaze and a raised brow.

“You would've done the same.” Was all she could argue, but she refused to meet her gaze regardless.

“Alright I'll try to get you a phone or something and for now let's stick with the story that she is some long lost cousin here for a visit.” Alex took her coat and threw her cup in the bin. “Got it, Linda?”

“Yeah. Thanks.” A phone would be very useful. And money.

— — —

“I need to go to the office soon, would you be okay here on your own?” Old self asked as she picked clothes out of her closet.

“Yeah, I suppose.” It would be nice to have a space to properly rest after the previous day. “But since I can't go out by myself I'll need your credit card to be able to shop online and order food.”

“What online shopping are you planning to do? Oh, is it any future mission related stuff?”

“No, I just figured that if I'm gonna be here for a while I should probably get some clothes that actually fit me.” Kara lifted the edges of the shirt that she had been dragging on the floor behind her all morning.

“Oh, yeah that's fair. Give me a moment to find it then.” Big Kara disappeared behind the bedroom curtains when a hurried knock came from the door.

“It's still open!” Her older self called out. Kara assumed she thought it was Alex and Maggie coming back, but she was too occupied to notice the new presence.

“Kara I need to – oh, hello.” Lena waved at her, looking shocked and relieved. 

“Hi.” Kara forced out a small wave as she tried and failed to settle the panic in her stomach.

“How did you end up here?” Lena asked, standing still by the open door.

“Lena! Hi! What are you doing here?” Old self asked, stumbling on her way to the door.

“I… to be quite honest with you I was here to ask you for a favour, well, for you to ask Supergirl really to help find a missing child, but it appears you have found her.”

“Oh yeah, yeah. Yes. Lena, this is my little cousin Linda. Wait, how do you know her?”

“Linda? No, that's not right. Did you not say your name was Tali? Or am I going crazy and there are two of you?”

“No, no. That was me.” Kara forced out what she hoped was a normal smile. “Thanks for the frozen yogurt by the way. It's… It's a long and silly story really... Some people call me Tali, some call me Linda, but you know the world is crazy! And sometimes crazy things happen and stuff… Not necessarily to you, but I suppose sometimes to you too, because, you know, it's all crazy!” She let out a panicked chuckle. “But you can just call me Linda. I prefer Linda.” Kara held the base of a nearby chair in an attempt to physically stop her word vomit.

“Alright, Linda it is. I'm glad you have made it safely to your cousin. I definitely see the resemblance.” Lena smiled at her softly. “Kara, can I speak with you a moment?”

“Yeah.” Kara said and moved to follow Lena only to realise the question was not addressed to her. “I mean, yeah you can definitely talk with my cousin. Kara. Who is my very… big adult cousin named Kara.”

“Alright that's enough. Linda, go brush your teeth, you know where to find the spare brushes. And yes Lena please come in.” Her old self gestured for Lena to follow her.

Kara sighed and dragged herself towards the washroom, her ears perked up to listen into their conversation.

“Is everything okay?” Lena asked in a soft voice.

“Um, yes?” Old self asked.

“It's just…” Lena took in a large breath. “I found this little girl by herself yesterday and she couldn’t tell me anything about a parent or a guardian.”

“Well, you saw how confused she was about her name. She is just very confused. We're working on it.” her old self reassured Lena.

“Well, I've called the police to help her locate her guardian but when I called this morning only for them to tell me she disappeared from the precinct.” Lena's voice wasn't accusing exactly, but the worry was clear. 

“Hahaha, yeah, see, that is just a misunderstanding.” Old self chuckled awkwardly.

“Kara, she disappeared from a police station. And she's what? Four? This is not simple confusion, this is dangerous.” Lena stressed out.

“I get why it can seem like that.” Her old self sounded like she was gonna say more but no words followed.

“I came here to ask you to ask supergirl to help find her. I'm very glad she is safe, but what was she doing out there on her own in the first place?”

“Yeah! Supergirl is actually how she left the police station. It was all a series of misunderstandings and I asked Supergirl for help, she just forgot to let the police know she took her. Silly supergirl,” She let out another nervous chuckle. “I'll have to tell her off for that one.”

“Right…”

“See it all actually makes sense.” Old self said somewhat unconvincingly.

“So how did she end up in the park alone? Why is she here by herself?” Lena asked some very valid questions.

“Um… It's a long story.”

Lena said nothing but most likely looked at her old self expectedly as she kept on talking

“Her parents are gone.” Her old self said, speaking with more seriousness and gravity in her voice. “She was connected to me as her only living relative and I… I agreed to take care of her until she finds a more permanent solution.”

“And the park?”

“I wasn't notified when she arrived, this is why I contacted Supergirl. There was a whole miscommunication but I promise you I'm dealing with it.”

“Oh. I see. That's very kind of you. I'm sorry to hear about her parents.”

“Thank you. I… yeah, thank you.”

“I'm sorry for barging in like that, I was just worried after I spoke with the police. I actually had to press them for an answer…” Lena sighed, sounding so sweet and kind.

“No, that's fine. You were worried. That was very sweet of you to come.”

“To lose her parents at that age… she must be devastated. I can understand the confusion.”

“Yeah… she is very confused.”

“I think I've told you how I was adopted by the Luthors. I'm glad she has someone like you to help her now, I just hope she can find a loving family to support her.”

“I'm sure she will.”

“Make sure she does. Okay?”

“I will.”

“Good. Do you think she'll be okay at Catco?”

“Catco?” Old self asked, just as confused as Kara felt by the question.

“Yeah, I assume you're taking her to work. I mean you can't leave her here by herself. Unless you have someone coming to take care of her.”

“Oh, ye–yeah. Of course. I'm taking her to Catco. She'll be fine. She's very mature for her age.”

“Good, okay. I can offer some financial help if you need anything. I know it's not much, I'm not really great with kids…”

“What? No, you found a lonely kid and helped her find help. And frozen yogurt from what I heard which is just so sweet of you. You've been amazing.”

“I just wish I could do more. Losing your parents at such a young age…”

“I know.” Big Kara’s voice came softer and quieter than before. They must've drifted closer to each other. “I know what it's like to lose everything, and what you did yesterday, that meant a lot. To me and to her.”

“I'm glad. Well, I should probably go.”

“Yeah, work and stuff.”

“Yeah.” Lena let out a small chuckle.

“We're still on to that Italian place on Friday, right?” Her old self asked.

“What about Tali– um, Linda?”

“Alex would watch over her.” Her old self said quickly.

“Are you sure? I don't want to have her main support vanish just for dinner.”

“Don't worry about it, Alex is also very much here for her, plus I'm really looking forward to it.”

“Okay. I'm looking forward to it too. Can I offer you a ride?”

That was some interesting piece of information. Perhaps that Italian place was the key. They could walk in the park to get ice cream or that frozen yogurt after dinner which would mean the area would be empty enough for a little heart to heart talk. 

“Come on.” Her old self interrupted her thoughts as the bathroom's door was slammed open. 

“What? Where?” Her mind instinctively readying herself for an alien attack or a bank robbery.

I keep thinking about Sarang and floor time. Just her flopping out on a heated floor and having some good good relaxation. Sometimes Derpy comes to hang out and they have it together. Nice living vibrating weighted blanket for her

When Sarang isn’t running with Rumi, she’ll usually listen to audiobooks while she runs. She loves learning stuff and having access to so many stories and being able to just run and listen all she wants makes her very very happy

She has a whole collection category of Special Gifts. Stuff like the first shirt Celine gave her after they came to this world, and the stuffed duck that Zoey bought for her that she just. Could not comprehend being for her at the time, and her ID card that tells everyone that she’s Rumi’s sister and Celine’s daughter and she has a name. They’re her favorite things to share with other people—okay, well, the ID when relevant—because she gets to give them all the love that she’s experienced :)